British Sailors Will Talk to Their Ships Via Siri

In the near future, British warships will

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integrate the latest in consumer tech, allowing sailors to interact with their ships via app-based tablets and even voice recognition. Whether that technology is really ready for the Royal Navy, however, is another matter.

Speaking at the Defence and Security Equipment International exhibition in London, first sea lord Admiral Sir Philip Jones said that the Royal Navy would embrace these new technologies to tame the vast amount of data available to sailors on a warship. Quoted in The Guardian, Jones told the press, "This is not a gimmick or a fad. As modern warfare becomes ever faster, and ever more data driven, our greatest asset will be the ability to cut through the deluge of information to think and act decisively."

Jones explained that the UK's new Type 31e frigate, the first of which is scheduled to enter service in 2023, will feature app-based workstations with touchscreens, mimicking modern smartphones and tablets. Jones also singled out Siri-style voice recognition technology and said that so-called augmented reality technology may make its way to the Type 31 frigates.